"With a dash of humor and a charmingly relatable cast
of characters, Roberts smartly leans into her storytelling strengths with
another heart-warming and hopeful tale."—John Charles, Booklist
An Excerpt from
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB
By Sheila Roberts
“Envy is a waste
unless you turn it into fuel to get out there and do something with your life.”
—from Where There’s a Will There’s a Way by Annie Wills
Gig Harbor, Washington
Lilith’s other
grandma lived in a housing development outside of town. The house was modest
with a well-kept front lawn and a fence separating the backyard from the front.
The roof of the promised bounce house peeked up over it, and Karissa could hear
childish squeals as she followed her excited daughter up the front walk.
Macy was
clutching a wrapped box like it was treasure. If you were an eight-year-old
girl and into fairies, it was. The box contained the newest book in the series
the girls were reading and a feather fairy crown as well as a wishing
stone—choose the one with your favorite fairy on it (great merchandising).
Lilith’s grandma,
Sylvia Peretti, opened the door and introduced herself. She smiled at Macy and
said, “The girls are in the bounce house. I’ll put your present with the
others, and you can go join them.” She motioned to a sliding glass door.
“Thank you,” Macy
said, and hurried to the door.
“Thank
you for inviting Macy,” Karissa said. “When should I come back for her?”
It
was the polite thing to say since the invitation hadn’t been for Macy and Mom.
There were adults present though. She saw her boss, Edward, standing by that
sliding door, looking out at the rockin’ bounce house and talking with an older
man, Mr. Peretti most likely. A woman somewhere around Karissa’s age sat on the
couch, while another woman, also similar in age, lounged in an easy chair, her
feet on a footstool. Family members, perhaps? From Lilith’s mother’s family?
Both of them eyed Karissa like cats, the aloof Egyptian goddess kind.
Edward
turned and waved at Karissa and smiled. It seemed that he smiled more lately,
and this one reached his eyes.
The
two women kept their hands around their drink glasses, and neither one called,
“Come, join us.”
“We’ll
be done by four,” said Sylvia.
Karissa
nodded, promised to return, and went back to her car, disappointed. There would
be no nosy chats, no helping serve cake. And no discovering who the unwelcoming
committee was. For all she knew, one of the women could have been there as
Edward’s guest. Although if that was the case, wouldn’t he have been sitting
with her?
Karissa
drove to Invitation Bookstore to console herself. A good book was always a
woman’s truest friend.
At
the bookstore she stocked up on novels by some of her favorite writers—the two
Susans (Susan Wiggs and Susan Mallery), Marie Bostwick, and Rachel Linden. One
of the Friends & Fiction ladies had a book on the shelves. She loved their
podcasts! Oooh, and here was a new one by Brenda Novak. And…she needed to stop
before she blew up her credit card. She rationalized her book binge by
reminding herself that she was supporting authors, helping them pay their
bills. Look what a good thing it had turned out to be that she hadn’t been
invited to the party. Look at all the imagination exercise tools she’d have
missed out on.
She
settled in her car, picked up a book and opened it to the first page. She got
four chapters read in Susan Mallery’s latest, and then it was time to go pick
up Macy.
This
time Sylvia invited her in, and she seemed a little more welcoming. Maybe
because she knew Karissa wouldn’t be staying long?
The
girls were finishing up their cake, and Karissa supposed Sylvia could hardly
leave her standing on the porch. The two women Karissa had seen earlier were
helping with cleanup as Karissa followed Sylvia into the kitchen.
“These
are my daughters, Arletta and Meagan,” she said, and the two women said a quick
hello and then went back to stowing away leftover goodies.
The
girls hadn’t lacked for food. In addition to the fairy cakes, which had been
given little cake wings, they’d enjoyed ice cream, chips, fruit, and tiny tea
sandwiches. They all wore costume butterfly wings on their backs and glitter in
their hair, and smiles on their faces.
“Let’s
get a picture before you all go home,” Sylvia said to the girls. “Lilith, put
your cousins on either side of you.”
Which
left Macy, the best friend, on the outside of the inner circle.
Cousins
trump best friends,
Karissa reminded herself.
Macy
didn’t care, she was beaming with ice cream on her chin, an arm around one of
the cousins.
Edward
and the older man came into the room at that moment. “Karissa,” Edward greeted
her. “I thought you’d stay.”
Your
mother-in-law didn’t invite me. “I had some errands to run.”
He nodded.
“Of course.”
“You
didn’t miss anything but chaos,” said the older man. “Come on, girls, time to
scram. Grandpa’s pooped.”
The
little girls all giggled, and Sylvia shook her head at him.
“Time
to go, Macy,” Karissa said to her daughter. “What do you say to Mrs. Peretti?”
“Thank
you for having me,” Macy said. “And thank you for the fairy wings!”
Fairy
wings for all. Sylvia Peretti wasn’t stingy, that was for sure.
“You’re
more than welcome,” she said to Macy. “Nice to meet you, Karissa. I didn’t
realize you were Edward’s secretary.”
Ah,
that explained the change in attitude.
“Administrative
assistant,” he corrected.
“Administrative
assistant. All these changes in terminology,” said Sylvia. “I remember when
secretaries were secretaries and garbage men were garbage men.”
Karissa
wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“Times
change,” Edward said. “I’ll walk you and Macy to your car, Karissa.”
He
did, but he didn’t say anything about his in-laws. Instead, he thanked Karissa
for coming. “It meant a lot to Lilith to have Macy here.”
“I
can tell she had a wonderful time.”
“I’m
sorry you had errands to run. I thought you might have enjoyed staying.”
Had
he wanted her to? She wished she’d been invited.
“I’m
sorry, too. It looks like it was a great party,” she said.
“Magical,”
he said with a slight head shake.
Was
that glitter she saw in his hair? “Is there…something in your hair?”
“They
made me be fairy king. I’m going to take two Advil when I get home.”
They
had reached the car, and Macy bowed to Edward and said, “Thank you, King
Thistlebottom. I was honored to be your loyal subject.”
Karissa
choked back a giggle. “King Thistlebottom?”
He
frowned and shook his head. “Don’t ask.”
“I
guess I shouldn’t address you as such at work on Monday then?”
“I
guess not,” he said firmly, and she laughed.
“Very
well, then. I can call you Your Majesty if you prefer.”
He
was already a handsome man, but that smile took handsome to a whole new level.
“Edward
will be just fine,” he said, opening the car door for Macy.
“Oh,
that’s right. You probably want to keep your magical kingdom and powers a
secret,” Karissa teased.
“I
think that would be best. See you Monday.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Have you read Sheila Roberts yet? Have you watched any of the movies based on her books?
Do you belong to a book club? If so, what book is your club currently reading?
Two people who post a comment before 11:00 PM, April 12 will each receive a print ARC of The Best Life Book Club.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
Sheila
Roberts is the author of more than 50 novels, including ON STRIKE FOR
CHRISTMAS, which was made into a Lifetime Network movie. Also adapted for the
small screen, Sheila’s THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS is a perennial Hallmark
channel favorite, and CHRISTMAS ON CANDY CANE LANE debuted on TV in December
2022. The author has sold more than three million copies of her novels. Before
launching her author career, Sheila owned a singing telegram company, wrote
music and played in a band. A cancer survivor, she resides in Washington state
with her husband, who is also an author. For more information about Sheila,
visit
www.sheilasplace.com.
Sheila social media links:
Sheila’s author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/funwithsheila
Sheila’s Instagram
author page: https://www.instagram.com/sheilarobertswriter/
Sheila’s TikTok
page https://www.tiktok.com/@sheilarobertswriter
Sheila’s BookBub
page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sheila-roberts
Sheila’s Goodreads
page: https://www.goodreads.com/sheilaroberts
Sheila’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClUWd1SxFGzd7NEkojcjDtA
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